“Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her
mouth without measure: and their glory, and their
multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall
descend into it.”Isaiah 5:14. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has
noticed the incredible change in people’s attitudes of
late. Unless you’ve been holed up in a cave somewhere or
stranded on a desert island you must agree with me that a
malicious mindset has emerged and it’s something that
every Christian will be subjected to in some way at some
point in their walk with Christ. In His Word, our Lord
Jesus tells us that a spirit of wickedness would be the
norm in the last days.

There’s a growing gap between people and their ideas
concerning what’s right and what’s wrong. There’s nothing
new about people having opposing views, it’s just that
lately it has become dangerous to express those views. It
seems that these days even friendly disagreements can turn
into an exchange of verbal abuse, ultimately turning into
physical altercations. These are not isolated events but
are actually occurring every day and in every walk of
life.

No
longer do we see good vs. evil where good wins out.
Nowadays everything is upside down. It seems we are being
pried apart by life’s problems and every little quirk
becomes a major stumbling block (a reason for a fight).
Doesn’t it seem to you that in these last days it takes
very little to put people off?

Friendliness is diminishing while a spirit of meanness has
surfaced in its place. Why is humanity heading into this
wasteland of hateful attitudes? It’s actually much simpler
than most would want to admit. As a civilization we’ve
left God behind. That’s it, that’s the reason man is
turning against his fellow man with such evil intent.
Without God in our lives we can’t have joy, we can’t have
peace, and we certainly can’t know love. Why do you think
so many people turn to drugs and alcohol for simulation?
They are trying to compensate for a lack of love, joy, and
peace which has left them destitute.

Recently I’ve received letters telling me about times when
my readers have had
to deal with mean spirited people. Two such letters
related that the intensity of verbal attacks were
unnerving. Imagine being confronted bya
mean spirited person who has pure evil on his/her mind,
and as they’re hurling obscenities at you and getting
right in your face, you’re trying to stay calm while at
the same time trying to calm them and to get them to see
reason.

Many people have abandoned God and joined the enemy’s
team. This abandonment of God has become obvious in these
last days. What we now see burgeoning is exactly what the
Bible tells us will occur. A breed of wickedness has
joined the ranks of humanity and it is redefining mankind.

“And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty
man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be
humbled:”

Isaiah 5:15. This evil presence that has become so
very blatant is, of course, diametrically opposed to God.
But God won’t be opposed for long. As we read our Bible we
come to understand that even though God is longsuffering
there does come a point that His patience ends. Even the
mean man will be brought down.

Since the majority of mankind do not believe in a creator
God it’s easy for Satan to convince them of his lies.
Remember, Eve knew God existed and yet she still allowed
herself to be deceived. Imagine how much easier it is for
Satan today with the immense amount of unbelief in the
world. But there will be a finale.

It’s hard to oppose God when you don’t have a leg to stand
on. Anyone who thinks they can deny or usurp God’s
authority is standing on very precarious ground. Just as
it was in the days of Noah, God will put an end to evil.
“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive
with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be
an hundred and twenty years.” Genesis 6:3. The
key word in the above verse is “strive”. The Hebrew word
is “diyn” which means “plead a cause”. God’s Holy Spirit
has a specific job; He strives, or contends, with man in
regards to the precepts of God. He is a convicting spirit.
The Spirit of God had diminished in that antediluvian
world. Actually it had been replaced by the spirit of
evil, and what we see today is that same spirit of evil
once again becoming a strong influence. Don’t be confused
by the above verse and the length of time mentioned there.
God is not saying humankind will enjoy a life span of 120
years, but that He is going to withhold His judgment for
another 120 years. He gave those inhabitants 120 years to
shape up, that was then. Here we are in the last of the
last days and we don’t have a 120 more years to shape up.
If people don’t get on board soon the ship will sail
without them.

It’s not difficult to see those in our society who oppose
God. Arrogance, pride, mean spiritedness, maliciousness,
cruelty, and hatred are all burgeoning human attitudes,
which are all in direct opposition to our Creator. Today
people seem to be without restraint as they wallow in
their wickedness. Christians are going to be in the direct
line of fire as this phenomenon continues. We must learn
to steel our minds and our hearts.

The
idea that people can be uncivil to one another, treating
each other with cruelty and a complete lack of
sensitivity, is nothing new. It’s just that this lack of
civility has blossomed into full-on hatred. No longer are
Christians going to be immune to this intense hate. The
enemy is not going to rest until he has convinced all the
foolish people he can that God is evil and he is good. We
are witnesses to this upside down world coming into play.

What we see occurring today is an obfuscation of the image
of God. Satan will do whatever he can to confuse people
about who God is and he’s been quite successful. The
obvious consequences of all Satan’s antics are being
unveiled today more than ever. Joy, love, and peace are
being replaced by a dog eat dog mentality. The reality of
this kind of existence is that it will not last for long.
A disintegration of the moral fiber inherent in all humans
along with a complete lack of compassion for one another
is creating a society bent on self destruction.

America, and the rest of the world for that matter, is
teetering on the edge of complete hopelessness. Those
who’ve aligned themselves with the enemy have become very
vocal and aggressive in their determination to rid the
world of the One true God. A satanic attempt to be sure,
and although it is having a far reaching affect on our
world it will not come to fruition. But Satan, being the
god of this world and the father of all lies, wields
incredible influence over the foolish and simple minded.
Anyone who follows the father of all lies is going to have
a mindset of aggressive mean spiritedness. Don’t think so?
Watch the Muslim world for obvious indications of what god
they serve.

How
do we contend with this aggressive, mean, vicious, hateful
attitude? The same way our Lord did. He was always ready
for the enemy’s attacks. We too must be ever vigilant as
the enemy never rests. This next verse should encourage
you as you are confronted by this evil attitude of mean
spiritedness
“A soft answer turneth away wrath: but
grievous words stir up anger.” Proverbs 15:1.

Referring to the Pharisees as brood of vipers, Jesus isn’t
using real soft language, nor could we say that Jesus used
soft words when He told these same evil minded folks that
they were the children of their father the devil. When
Jesus tells Peter “Get thee behind me Satan” that’s pretty
harsh in whatever language you use, and there may come a
time when we are pushed into defending our faith in these
same strong words. But remember honey draws more flies
then does vinegar.

Satan has no love or compassion in him. Love is not in
Satan’s vocabulary other than to denounce it. But mankind,
made in God’s image, does know love because it’s a part of
us. The opposite of love is what Satan promotes and many
people have given themselves over to the enemy.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the
power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that
ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”Ephesians 6:11. It’s going to get tougher as we
move deeper into the cesspool of hate. More and more
people without the love of Christ in them are going to
surface. You’ll know them by their fruit (spirit of
meanness). A period of testing is here. If you’ve not been
confronted by the spirit of evil as yet, your turn is
coming. Something that every Christian must recognize is
that this aggressive evil is infectious – and burgeoning.
As Chuck Missler likes to quip, “Never leave home without
your heavy artillery,” That would be prayer.

Christians are fully protected from the consuming affronts
of the enemy.
“Above all, taking the shield of faith,
wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts
of the wicked.” Ephesians 6:16. We may be hit
now and then with one of his darts but he can’t consume
us. As children of the Most High God we are called to
stand on His promises. Whenever the occasion arises for us
to deal with evil, we are assured that there is nothing to
fear as we’ve been given all the protection we need. The
Holy Spirit of God indwells us, who is indwelling our
enemies?

Lost folks these days are becoming fully armed by their
leader Satan. Vocabularies are infused with obscenities
that are used for the sole purpose of hurting others.
“But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but
whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him
the other also.” Matthew 5:39. Here our Lord is
giving an example of how we should react to someone’s
verbal abusiveness. The word smite is used metaphorically
as being hit by stinging words. We should simply turn away
from the person and continue on our way. Evil words are
only a part of the satanic behavior these people are
displaying today. There is a growing aggressive attitude
of using physical force to abuse others. Christians are
told to love our enemies and pray for them, but when we or
our families are threatened with physical harm, nowhere in
the scriptures are we told to simply stand and allow
others to physically abuse us. I might allow someone to
harm me physically, but I won’t allow wicked human beings
to harm my family.

Christians will suffer in these trying last days
“Yet
if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed;
but let him glorify God on this behalf.”
1 Peter
4:16. It won’t be long now; God will soon pour out His
wrath on a Christ rejecting world. The restrainer is soon
to be removed so that lawlessness can abound. Since the
restrainer is sealed within every born again believer on
earth, we must all be removed before the beast can be
released. “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and
opened her mouth without measure…” Isaiah 5:14a.

God
bless you all,

Ron
Graham

All scripture is from the KJV and “theopneustos” God
breathed

Please continue to pray for my health. Your prayers and
gifts are greatly appreciated. If God is leading you to
send a gift of support, send it to Ron Graham – 96 County
Road 5480 Salem, MO. 65560. Thank you my dear brethren,
God bless